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NC State Basketball

Wolfpack Rip #2 Duke 87-75 : The Aftermath

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9 years ago

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NC State upset unbeaten #2 Duke today 87-75 at the PNC on national TV. State used 21 points from Trevor Lacey, 14 points and 4 blocks from Beejay Anya and 16 from Ralston Turner to take down the cross-town rivals.

We talked about 3 keys for the Pack to upset Duke…here is how they checked those boxes and walked away with the huge victory.

1 | Stop Okafor
Sure, he scored 23 points on the night, but overall the Pack kept the freshman phenom off balance. State sent their opposite side big down to double and was quick on rotating down and forcing Okafor to pass out of the post. When he did State was able to rotate efficiently and force tough shots all night long. When Duke did get interior looks Anya and Washington were able to erase those with blocks (the Pack had 10 total).

2 | Protect the basketball
Duke is known for their pestering defense out top, but State was able to withstand that pressure and get into their offense. NC State’s bigger guards were a big mismatch for the Duke perimeter players, allowing them to hold off pressure and pass over the top when needed. State only turned the ball over 10 times, which was very good against a defense that rarely quits.

3 | Bigs and Bench
This Wolfpack team hadn’t put these two things together all season, but today they did. The bigs were outstanding. One reason they were able to do so much damage was thanks to their willingness to share. Duke brought doubles but State was too quick with their high-lows and interior passing, getting them wide open layups and good clean one on one opportunities in the paint. One huge factor was Kyle Washington’s first half passing. KWash is known for his ability to score in the post, but today his passing and awareness was what stood out. He was quick in his decision making and beat Duke’s rotation over and over. He had 3 assists, but countless good looks in the post.

Sure, good passing was nice to see but they were also able to finish in the paint against Okafor. Washington had 9 points, Abu had 8 and Anya (one of State’s players of the game) added 14.

The other side of this key was the bench. NC State has had trouble getting their bench going as of late, but today they had it clicking. Anya came off the bench and provided the Pack with a huge boost on both ends. He finally showed the ability to finish with his back to the basket and also did what he does best, clean up the offensive glass (3 ORebs). Anya also added 6 boards and 4 huge blocks. The other guy that played great off the bench was a Martin twin, but not the one you are used to. This time is was Cody Martin who got the majority of the minutes. He filled up the stat sheet with 6 points, 5 assists and 3 boards (in only 16 minutes of action), but it was his defense that kept him on the floor. Martin was everywhere, using his length and quickness to force tough shots, grab loose balls and really give State a lot of energy whenever they started to slow down.

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Overall, this was a huge win for the Wolfpack. It gave them their first premium win and gives them a ton of momentum heading into their Wednesday matchup with arch-rival UNC.

We’ll have more breakdown of this game with deep stats, quotes and much more…stay tuned and party on, Raleigh!

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Wolfer96
Wolfer96
9 years ago

First of all, nice freaking win. Where was this team all season? The balanced offensive attack was refreshing. The hustle, attacking the press, defense, passing, ball control. It was all there. Let’s be honest here… Okafor is the man. 8 for 11, 12 rebs, 3 blks, and 23 pts. He scored at will and against double teams all game. If he got some help from his teammates this would have been a tighter game. Where the Wolf Pack succeeded was on ball defense, help defense against penetration, and quick double-teams on Okafor limiting his number of shot attempts. Game ball… Read more »

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NC State Basketball

Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James is Currently Visiting NC State

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4 hours ago

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April 19, 2024

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Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James (6’5″/200) is on a visit to NC State currently, according to a source.

Indiana State Transfer Ryan Conwell was on campus last week, but he just committed to Xavier.

From what I hear, the staff preferred James over Connell anyway. A plus with James is he has 2 years of eligibility, whereas Conwell has 1.

News broke about James entering the Transfer Portal back on March 25th, and NC State was quick to reach out. Kevin Keatts and his staff recruited the former 4-star prospect out of high school heavily, but he ultimately chose the Cardinals.

Rivals ranked James as the #71 overall player in the 2021 recruiting class, and ESPN ranked him as the #7 prospect in the state of Florida.

After redshirting his first year in Louisville due to torn achilles, James has been a starter for the Cardinals the past two years. This year, he averaged 12.6 points and 5 rebounds.

For a more extensive look at James’ game, click here.

Rivals ranks James as the #77 overall player in the Transfer Portal.

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NC State Basketball

Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James is a Priority for NC State

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7 hours ago

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April 19, 2024

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Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James (6’5″/200) is a priority for NC State, according to a source.

News broke about James entering the Transfer Portal back on March 25th, and NC State was quick to reach out. Kevin Keatts and his staff recruited the former 4-star prospect out of high school heavily, but he ultimately chose the Cardinals.

After redshirting his first year in Louisville due to torn achilles, James has been a starter for the Cardinals the past two years.

This past year, James averaged 12.6 points per game (3rd on the team) and 5 rebounds. He’s extremely physical and aggressive, taking 47% of his field goal attempts at the rim (making 46%). As a result, he draws a lot of fouls, ranking 10th in the ACC in Fouls Drawn, and 4th in Free Throw Rate. James made opponents pay this year when they put him on the line, making 81.8% from the charity stripe, which ranked 15th in the ACC.

James shot the ball better as a Redshirt Freshman, than he did this past season. His Effective Field Goal Percentage in 2022-23 was 55.8%, which ranked 19th in the ACC, and his True Shooting Percentage of 59.6% ranked 14th.

He does have the ability to knock down a three, making 34.8% for his career.

NC State already hosted Indiana State Transfer Guard Ryan Conwell last week, and while the Wolfpack coaches like both players, from what I’m hearing, James would be their preference.

NC State hasn’t had James in for a visit, but that could happen soon.

James has 2 years of eligibility remaining.

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NC State Basketball

NC State’s Casey Morsell is the 4th Player in NCAA History to Start 41 Games in a Season

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13 hours ago

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April 19, 2024

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NC State Guard Casey Morsell started 41 games for the Wolfpack this season, becoming the 4th player in NCAA history to do so.

 

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Prior to this season, the record for most games started in a single season in NC State history was 37, with three Wolfpack players doing so: Lorenzo Brown, Richard Howell, CJ Williams.

Morsell now sits atop the list, and a fellow teammate, DJ Burns ranks second, with 40 games started this season.

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Georgetown Transfer Dontrez Styles Commits to NC State!

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24 hours ago

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April 18, 2024

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Georgetown Forward Transfer Dontrez Styles (6’6″/212) has committed to NC State!

Styles was the 2nd leading scorer for Georgetown this season, averaging 12.8 points per game, while grabbing 5.8 boards. He shot 36.8% from three.

Originally, Sytles was a consensus 4-Star prospect in UNC’s 2021 recruiting class. 247Sports ranked him as the #62 overall player nationally, and the #2 player in the state of North Carolina, playing for Kinston High School.

After two seasons with the Tar Heels, Styles entered the Portal, and took an Official Visit to NC State and Georgetown, and ultimately chose the Hoyas.

ON3 ranks Styles as the #104 overall player in the Portal.

With his final year of eligibility, Styles’ made the right choice this time.

NC State now has 2 scholarships remaining after Styles’ commitment.

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